Chapter 64 is here! The last chapter of volume 2! I think this one will answer some of the frustrations and questions that some readers had. To whom it may concern, I didn"t want to spoil it for you, hope you"ll forgive me, friend.
Anyway, here"s chapter 64, I hope you"ll enjoy it!
Chapter 64
On the left side of the battlefield, Macbarn had been stuck in a close battle for a while. Until now.
【"―― Look at our brave hero! Let"s follow in his steps! Victory is already ours!"】
Rodrigo shouted at the top of his lungs, and launched an offensive.
Even ordinary soldiers had dreams of heroes since the day they were born as men.
How could they not get fried up after seeing an actual hero in action?
【"Ooooooooooooooooh!"】
【"We won"t lose out to Macbarn! ATTACK!"】
As if their struggles so far were all a lie, the Lapland forces forced back the Asgardian soldiers at the center of the formation.
Just by keeping themselves from being completely crushed, the empire"s soldiers were already living up to their reputation.
【"MY HAIR!"】
【"Master! Please come back to your senses!!"】
To make things worse for the Asgardians, Kurats and Frigga were going on a rampage on their right wing, which had the least amount of soldiers.
【"Uh… Everyone, ignore that monster and push forward!"】
Gregory, the man leading the forces on the right wing of the empire"s formation, had to make a bitter decision and order an all-out attack.
He had already gained victory over half the allied forces of Mountbatten and Eldris.
Had he taken the rest of them down before Kurats brought down Cabernard, the state of the war might have been different.
If there was a single way for them to succeed in any way, it was most certainly by destroying the northern alliance"s right wing.
Hence why Gregory was ready to pull the enemy"s forces towards his own, at the risk of getting annihilated.
【"D-don"t step back! Our hero will be here to help us in no time!"】
This was the empire"s last offensive. It was like the last sparkle of a candle before it burned out, but it made the hearts of Mountbatten"s and Elsrid"s soldiers skip more than a few beats.
The soldiers believed that if they stayed careful and quiet enough, Kurats and Frigga were going to eventually save them. But these rea.s.suring thoughts were preventing them from putting their lives on the line and fighting with their all.
The more flashy Kurats" fighting prowesses were, the less fighting spirit they had.
Lapland could not abandon their allies as this crisis unfolded.
This battle was not going to be the last, and for the future security of all the northern nations, they had to be careful of anything that could put a strain on their alliance.
【"Sorry Gregory… We"re in your debt!"】
Thanks to the pressure of Gregory"s last a.s.sault, the Asgardian forces at the center were able to retreat in a square formation. They were using the right wing"s a.s.sault as a decoy.
【"We will also retreat! Do not waste the right wing"s sacrifice!"】
As for the left wing, though Rodrigo"s soldiers were eating away at their formation, they did not hesitate to retreat. Moreover, they were still able to display all their skill and battle experience in their escape.
Rodrigo was amazed.
【"Is the difference in experience that big?!"】
It is said that a difference in experience between soldiers is better seen when they"re in a position of retreat rather than when they"re the victors.
When a soldiers thinks victory is close, he immediately becomes more careful with his life, and less competent. He doesn"t get to show his experience and skills.
Who would want to die in battle with victory in sight, and miss out on all the rewards?
However, when an army retreated, the good and experienced soldiers could be distinguished by their unbroken wills.
No soldier would get particularly frightened while being surrounded by his allies, but a soldier keeping his fighting spirit while his allies were being killed one after the other was anything but common.
The Asgardian men"s retreat was splendid. It was as if it had come straight out of a military textbook.
【"Show them the spirit of Asgard! Let us give our lives away! Let us find glory IN DEATH!"】
The last, frenzied a.s.sault of the Asgardians in the right wing put the forces of Mountbatten and Elsrid in a state of great anarchy.
As foes and allies blended together, Kurats was unable to intervene.
But eventually, the forces of Lapland and Macbarn came to encircle them from both flanks, and took care of all the fleeing soldiers of the alliance. The Asgardians were trapped.
The battle was already over by that point.
The empire"s soldiers put up a hard fight and kept resisting for a few more hours, but as their willpower dwindled, they fell one after the other.
When Gregory finally died, his remaining subordinates surrendered. There were only 10% of them left. But the 90% who had given their lives to allow their comrades to escape had certainly left their mark on the pages of history.
【"…That was incredible."】
【"If I ever die in battle, I want it to be like this."】
Although they had failed to annihilate the empire"s army, the northern alliance had still made half of them unable to go on with the war. It only took them a few days to take back the rest of Lapland afterwards.
The forever invincible Asgard empire was defeated by a small kingdom. That information was eventually going to spread over the whole continent, giving hope to all the small countries that lived in fear under the pressure of major powers.
Brigitte was kneeling in front of Heimdall, with what was left of her right arm covered in bandages.
When Cabernard died in battle, the responsibility for the defeat fell onto her.
【"My deepest apologies. This is inexcusable. If I have to be demoted to the rank of a mere soldier, then so be it. But please just give me chance to get revenge!"】
Even death itself was not going to stop her from challenging Frigga again.
Without her arm, her chances of winning could very well be inexistent.
Still, it was against her convictions to quit while she was ahead. Or in this case, quit while she was behind.
【"Cabernard was defeated? That Cabernard? I can"t believe it…"】
The man deploring the loss of Cabernard was the commander of the empire"s first squadron.
Gunther Olbrink.
He was still only in his early thirties, but his swordsmanship went beyond anyone else"s in the empire. People called him the Devil swordsman.
He had short hair and an intrepid countenance to him, yet he also had charming features that were much favored by the opposite s.e.x.
【"You"ve picked my curiosity. You can have the Valkyrie if you want, but I"ll deal with the man myself!"】
It was easy to tell by Skuld"s smile that this news was the harbinger of a fun time to her.
Skuld Beweldshteim.
She was a distant cousin of Heimdall"s. A true descendant of the imperial family.
Due to her father"s death, she had inherited the t.i.tle of archduke of Beweldshteim at a young age.
Her long blonde hair could stretch to her hips, but she had it tied in a bun and slightly hanging down.
She was a beauty the likes of which would only appear once in any given population, but her eyes were dyed in such a deep crimson red that you"d believe they were covered in blood.
She was known for being the cruelest of Asgard"s commanders, and as such, she was nicknamed the Mad Princess.
【"But I"m having a hard time believing that a single man was able to destroy a Chaos horseman by himself. You can"t just suddenly drop that on us."】
The man quietly groaning in complaint looked like a literal giant compared to everyone else.
Bruno Björkenheim.
He was known as Bruno "The strong-armed", and he was recognized as the strongest man in Asgard.
But even he was not confident that he would be able to stand his ground in a contest of pure strength against a Chaos horseman.
If Cabernard was still alive, this would be a meeting between the commanders of all the squadrons. But he was never going to partic.i.p.ate in any of their little meetings again.
The death of the comrade they used to call the Iron Wall made the few people present in the room feel more than a little bitter, maybe even sentimental.
【"Let"s put the Valkyrie aside for now and focus on that man. Who is he?"】
【"They were calling him earl "McGregor Mathers". But we couldn"t find his name anywhere in the registry of Lapland"s n.o.bles."】
【"Which country do you think he"s from?"】
【"I don"t know but I don"t believe such a powerful warrior could be nameless… We"ll check the whereabouts of all the well-known figures of the surrounding nations."】
Heimdall frowned at his subordinates, who could not provide him with a clear answer.
This was a matter of national strategy.
The empire"s failure to make Lapland surrender was going to have a severe impact on their plan of going to war against Jormungand.
【"E-excuse me…"】
Brigitte interjected in the conversation with an apologetic tone of voice.
She would have much prefered to stay quiet, but she felt like Heimdall was going to be in a foul mood if no one gave him concrete information.
【"What is it? If you have something to say, just say it."】
【"Well, I"d just like to say that the Snow White Valkyrie was calling that man "Master"…"】
【"Come again?"】
Lapland was a kingdom with a long history behind it, and Frigga was the younger sister of its king.
She was no commoner. There should have been no circ.u.mstances under which she would have to call anyone master.
But perhaps she was just doing it for a sort of special "play". If that was the case, then picking a battlefield for those kinds of activities was going too far.
【"It"s my first time hearing that princess Frigga has that kind of… inclination… But it"s starting to seem more likely that he"s actually from Lapland, isn"t it?"】
Gunther"s perplexed, wry smile did not undermine his point. Heimdall agreed with him.
It didn"t seem likely that a man from another country had somehow gotten a chance to reach that kind of ‘relationship" with Frigga.
【"I"ll ask the three of you. Who should our country focus on? Lapland or Jormungand?"】
【"We can"t hide our defeat by this point, so sticking to Lapland would be foolish. The potential gains are too meager to be worth making any more sacrifices."】
【"―― It doesn"t matter to me as long as I get to fight that man."】
【"If we wage war against Jormungand, I doubt Lapland will stay silent anyway, so it"ll all be the same."】
Heimdall was quite satisfied after hearing the opinions of his commanders.
【"In short, none of you objects to having a showdown against Jormungand, right?"】
【"Yes."】
Even though the fourth squadron was partially destroyed, Asgard was still far beyond Jormungand when it came to their military forces.
However, Heimdall"s sixth sense kept ringing alarm bells about that unidentified man.
【"For now, keep looking for the man"s ident.i.ty, and gather data about his fight so we can quickly improve our weapons. I have a feeling there will be no conquering the continent without increasing the power of the Chaos hors.e.m.e.n first."】
Heimdall"s ambitions were not limited to the land within humanity"s sphere of influence.
In order to eliminate formidable foes such as high-level demons, having special equipment like the Chaos hors.e.m.e.n that could explosively increase an individual"s fighting strength was going to be absolutely essential.
Translator"s note: And that"s the end of volume 2. But don"t worry, the translations will keep the same pace. The first chapter of volume 3 will be here next week, I hope you"ll like it!
In the meantime, have an amazing day!